


bifurious

by sharkbait (KiwiWire)



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Humor, Captain!Nitori, F/M, General Swimming Drama, Growing Up, Karma is a Bitch, M/M, MomoTori, Multi, Nitori-centric, POV Second Person, Unrequited Love, but you take while the taking is good, when you don't know what you want
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-11 00:05:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2045340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiwiWire/pseuds/sharkbait
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Rin leaves for the Olympics, he leaves the weight of your pathetic pining behind him as well. As though you didn't have enough on your plate already- especially when Momo learns the definition of the word 'bisexual.' </p><p>Third-year is a balancing act between managing the swim club, your feelings, and trying to tame Momotarou Mikoshiba. </p><p>( or </p><p>The one where Nitori has unresolved leftover-feelings, Momo tries to fuck anything that moves, and Rin should learn to call more frequently.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	bifurious

_History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce._

\- Karl Marx

 

Subconsciously, your foot tapped to the tune of your own heartbeat. You'd been to several entrance ceremonies before, but this one was different. This one did not have Rin Matsuoka sitting in the section of the auditorium assigned to the grade above your own. This one, you noted while gnawing your bottom lip raw, was the last entrance ceremony you would ever attend. At least at Samezuka Academy.

In short, you're fucking terrified, and your heart threatened to jump out of any available orifice in lieu of keeping itself lodged between your lungs and rattling your ribs. Here you are, captain of the "renowned-for-having-not-one-but- _two_ -Olympic-Swimmers-in-their-graduating-class" Samezuka Academy Swim Club, about to piss yourself simply because you couldn't cope with growing up. Fingernails digging into your palms, you stand doe-legged when the principal acknowledges your class, politely bow, and sit back down. The rest of the ceremony goes by like you remember it being last year and the year before that with little variation. There's an unpleasant, metallic feedback from the microphone after the principal wishes everyone good luck with the year and dismisses the school back to their dorms, and your nerves seem to dissipate with it. Before you can even get out of your chair, there's a hand on your shoulder.  
  
"Nitori-senpai!"  
  
The nerves are back, and as the redhead grins wide, you can't help but feel a little inadequate as his senior. He's both taller and more muscular than you are. It runs in the Mikoshiba family, you assume, and although you had hit a small and long-awaited growth spurt over the break, Momotarou had hit about five. Unfair was an understatement.

"Momo-kun." You say, smiling tiredly, exiting the auditorium with him. 

He goes on about what he did over the break and how many cute girls had rejected him, even after he showed them his extensive stag-beetle collection, while you ran the itinerary for the club in your head for the thousandth time since being appointed captain.  
  
(A few days before school ended, Rin-senpai had asked you to stay for a few minutes after practice to discuss something important.  
  
Needless to say, it was  _not_ the love confession you were so desperate to hear and return, and instead an inquiry about how you think you'd do as captain.  
  
"R-rin-senpai! I don't think I can-"

"Tch. You work hard, Ai. I think you can make the team work hard, too. You're obviously the best choice."

And with your face burning hot, you couldn't turn him down. Not Rin-senpai. The official announcement came the next day, and unsurprisingly, there was an unsettling quiet cast over the club. No one would question Rin-senpai's choice out of respect for the captain, but the whispers that followed shook your core.)

All you could think about was how you were going to handle the rest of the club if you couldn't even handle-

"Ah, Nitori-senpai? Could you open the door? I misplaced my key."

You blink, once, twice, and then realize Momo was leaning against the wall next to the dorm. Keys were redistributed earlier today. "It's the first day of school."

He laughs nervously, "Haha, yeah, it is, isn't it? My bad."

You sigh and submissively unlock the door. Maybe one of these days his forgetfulness would teach him a lesson.  
  
Probably not.

Although increasing in size physically, it's apparent that Momo had not grown up at all over the break when he sits down at his desk and begins to play with the toy soldiers that occupied most of the table, untouched from their positions established the previous school year. You both had decided to spend the break at home instead of at school, since your mother insisted that you come home after not doing so since your first year at Samezuka, and Momo because (former) Captain Mikoshiba-senpai had returned home from his university. The brothers had a lot to catch up on, as Momo had so indulgently explained earlier.  
  
You lay on the bottom bunk and fiddle around with your phone. You had been exchanging texts with Rin-senpai since school let out, mostly about the future of the swim club, but sometimes you had an actual conversation with him, and those- no matter how simple- managed to make your heart flutter out of pure stupidity and admiration. Unfortunately enough, they had become less frequent and more formal as of late. Though you had no qualms with initiating texts in the past, you didn't want to bother him if he was doing something important and Olympic-y.   
  
It's true, you are more or less (definitely more) completely infatuated with Rin Matsuoka. He was everything you wanted to be: cool, strong, assertive. He swam with blinding purpose; you swam to be closer to him. Having him as a roommate in 1st year was bad for your developing hormones, and unbeknownst to Momo, the top bunk he was sleeping in had gone through a lot. Not that you were planning on telling him that minor detail. Ever.

In the end, you don't send the text to Rin. Instead, you shove your phone underneath your pillow and turn onto your side. It's not like you needed his constant attention. Craved it, sure. But needed it? Not really. Maybe.

Either way, you were content with going to sleep. Tomorrow was when real class started, and swim club was directly after the last bell let out. Naturally, the only option was to rest up and avoid responsibility for as long as possible.

You're pulled out of your groggy stupor by a bright, far-too-loud voice. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Momo-kun." You say as politely as you can, but there's a small voice in the back of your head persuading you to politely suffocate him with a pillow.

You don't hate Momo at all; he just subjects you to a lot of spastic perversity that you aren't exactly accustomed to. Still, he was your teammate, your roommate- and by extension- your friend.  

"Do you think it's possible-" He looks around, nervously swallowing, and you can't help but get antsy as well. Momo is usually the epitome of bluntness and usually doesn't care what the consequences of his own words are, yet he hesitates when- "Is it possible for someone to, you know. Think girls  _and_ boys are cute?"

You sputter on your own spit.

 "C-come again?"   
  
"Is. It." He says, slower, but his eyes widen when he realizes what he's saying. "Um. Never mind, Nitori-senpai. Thanks anyway!"

He laughs it off, returning to his fictional toy-warfare, and you're dumbstruck. It wasn't like he had said anything incredibly remarkable- it was just the abruptness of it. Self-proclaimed lady killer Momotarou Mikoshiba, _bi-curious._ You stifle a giggle.

"Yeah, it's definitely possible." You answer earnestly.  
  
"Oh." Momo hums. The answer seems to satisfy him, considering that the next sounds to come out of his mouth are gunfire-esque.

You close your eyes again, but there's no denying the wave of unspoken uneasiness that washes over the room. As you drift off, you can't help but wonder what spurred Momotarou onto the road of sexual exploration. Boyish wonder? Hormones?   
  
There's another possibility that manifests itself in your mind, but you quickly squash it and file it away in the same repressed corner that hosted your memories of any given awkward locker room incident.

Any chance of erasing it is far gone, though. The thought was out there, ready for the universe to hear it and spin some self-fulfilling prophecy bullshit upon it.

And the universe was definitely listening.

-_-_-_-

 

One of the arguably many downsides of having Momo as a roommate is that neither of you are morning people. Unlike Rin, who would often get up early to jog at unholy hours and inadvertently wake you up, Momo could sleep through the destruction of Pompeii. It became apparent right away that it was now _your_ responsibility to make the noise and wake the other one up. Growing accustomed to this was a pain in the ass, but eventually you managed to show up to your first class in a semi-reasonable amount of time.

Summer, it seems, had reset your mental clock. 

You arrive at your first period class 20 minutes late, apologizing to the teacher before shuffling embarrassedly to an empty desk. It's hard to concentrate on the introductory lecture between your embarrassment and the impending doom of your first day as Swim Captain. The phone in your pocket buzzes, as if trying to draw even more attention to you in some sort of sick, sadistic way, and you reach to turn it off before noticing the text.

_"Yo, Ai._

_good luck today. remember, you're ready for this._

_-rin"_

You smile to yourself, a quiet red creeping across your cheeks. Something akin to pride swells in your chest and the next time you exhale, it comes out rigidly. Rin-senpai makes you feel so _warm._  

When the class is over, your mind is still buzzing with the thought of Rin-senpai as you collect your things and exit the classroom, fingers tracing the outline of your phone through your pocket. 

You can't even recall the teacher's name.

 

-_-_-_-

 

Captaining the swim club isn't as horror-inducing as you had initially thought it would be. After some awkward reintroductions with the returning members and welcoming the incoming freshmen, you laid out the training regimen that Rin had recommended you. 

"A-and if you have any questions, feel free to ask me about them!" You say, only half as shakily as you anticipated. 

As the other members disperse into their assigned destinations in and around the pool, you see Momotarou strutting towards you out of the corner of your eye. 

"That was pretty awesome, Nitori-senpai." Momo says, giving you a friendly punch on the arm, "I almost didn't think you had it in you!"

It's almost as if the discussion from the previous night had not happened at all. It's probably better that way, you assure yourself, to prevent any compromising situations that might have occurred otherwise.  

"Thank you, Momo-kun. Honestly, I wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for Rin-senpai's advice." 

Momo hums in affirmation at that, "Yeah, Rin-senpai is great- and so's Gou-san. Hey, you think we could schedule a joint practice with Iwatobi?" 

Some things never change.

But.

Something seems slightly off as he joins his fellow backstrokers- and it's something that you can't shake off easily. 

You try to distract yourself by keeping an eye on the swimmers in front of you.  
  
But.

There's an unsettling feeling of someone keeping _their_ eye on _you._  

**Author's Note:**

> After an intense internal debate, I decided to post this. It's my first ambitious multi-chapter fic and I'm pretty nervous, so I hope it's alright so far. 
> 
> Chapters will be longer from here on out.


End file.
